This controversial diet is centred around low carbohydrate intake (< 20g/d) and getting most calories (70%) from fat and the remainder from protein. The diet is gaining popularity in the media and with many physicians for its effects on insulin, IGF-1, and the immune system. I've been on this diet for a few months now and fasting for 72 hours around the time of chemotherapy doses (which was nasty on weekly chemo!). Has anyone else out there been looking at this diet or fasting/fasting mimicking diet as a way of helping the immune system boost its activity against cancer cells? Certainly more studies are needed, but the logic makes sense to me: starving cancer cells of sugar puts them into a different metabolic pattern, where they may be more susceptible to chemo and the immune system.
Discussion
I just discovered this! While trying to avoid sweets, I really wanted to find a way to enjoy a taste of chocolate, so I added a Tbsp of Hershey's cocoa to my match tea with a splash of unsweetened vanilla soy milk. I ended up with a wonderful hot chocolate! Total fat about 2G or less, sugar content less than 3G!
Thanks for the post, Paige. TNBC can survive without glucose and actually thrives off of amino acids such as glutamine. Therefore, limiting carbohydrates may not be as effective as it is for tumors such as glioblastimas that are derived from neural tissue and, hence, much more dependent on glucose for survival. IGF-1 is another possible stimulant for cancer growth, which as you suggested, is secreted with a carbohydrate load.
So, this remains a challenging subject. However, I do think a high fat diet may not be a good idea for TNBC in light of recent study results. Unfortunately, all of these dietary studies are so difficult to control.
I do believe that eating plenty of vegetables and some fruit (esp. those with a low glycemic index) is a good idea. Fiber may whisk away those extra sterols floating around that may or may not feed TNBC. Fruit and vegetables contain so many cancer fighting chemicals that I believe should be a substantial part of our post cancer diet.
Paleo is definitely a good option and may not overwhelm the body with excess proteins.
Thanks again for your great post!!!